Al-Jazeera calls new video of CARE hostage 'too graphic' to air

[DuctapeFatwa]

A videotape of Margaret Hassan, a relief worker abducted in Iraq, has been released and warns of "dangerous and serious" deadlines, Ireland's premier said Tuesday. Al-Jazeera refused to air the tape of the Dublin-born hostage, saying it is "too graphic."
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, who read the text of the video but hadn't seen it, said he believes it shows the 59-year-old Hassan pleading for her life directly to the camera before suddenly fainting, according to Britain's Press Association news agency.

He said a bucket of water is then thrown over her head and she is filmed lying wet and helpless on the ground before getting up and crying, the agency said.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-11-02-care-hostage_x.htm

[aden_nak]

1. If al Jazeera won't show it, it must be FUCKED.

[sam sarrha]

66. They just dont want other people seeing them torment women.. they dont

give a rats ass for the woman or how she feels...

[muriel_volestrangler]

69. Your basis for this?

Al Jazeera certainly has a 'pro-Arab populace' point of view. But so does Margaret Hassan. What makes you think they don't care for her?

[Career Prole]

2. Now that's a buzzkill if ever I got one.

:cry:

[cali]

3. Fuck them.

How can they do this to a woman who has dedicated over half of her life to the welfare of the Iraqi people?

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. How could we kill even one Iraqi baby for the justifications

presented by the chimp?

[jobycom]

7. nod. nt.

[cali]

8. I knew someone would post that

exact mindless sentiment. First of all, don't include me in that we. I fought my ass off against this war. Second of all one can condemn one action without having to recite a litany of other evils. This was a specific post about a specific person who's suffering greatly and has dedicated her life for the greater good of the Iraqi people. It isn't necessary for me to post an addendum about how horrible the US is at every turn. I really can't stand that sanctimonious, "but we're worse" shit. Ever hear that hackneyed old chestnut about comparisons being odious?

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

16. IMHO, I think you went overboard with your response....

...one can still feel bad for the CARE lady while ALSO feeling just as badly, if not worse, for the 100,000+ Iraqi civilians killed because of the oil-driven decisions made by the NeoCon Junta.

Additionally, and also IMHO, Your anti-war responsibilities did NOT end with the invasion of Iraq, nor will they end until the last American is gone from that country. And yes, IMHO, what we've done to the Iraqi people is FAR worse than anything they could possibly have the resources to do to us.

You can believe I'm being "sanctimonious" all you want...facts are facts whether you want to face them or not.

[cali]

30. I respect that you feel that way

I still don't believe the comparisons, including yours, are helpful or particularly well thought out. I also believe they're
disrespectful to Margaret Hassan. I understand the tension inherent in balancing responsibility and blame in the hideous morass that is Iraq. Simply because I didn't add the de rigeur, politically correct condemnation of U.S. actions in this thread about Ms. Hassan, doesn't mean I don't grasp the injustices chalked up in the U.S. column, due to the invasion of Iraq.

You say:

Additionally, and also IMHO, Your anti-war responsibilities did NOT end with the invasion of Iraq, nor will they end until the last American is gone from that country. And yes, IMHO, what we've done to the Iraqi people is FAR worse than anything they could possibly have the resources to do to us.


I agree. My anti-war responsibilities are not at an end. Where did I say or infer that they were? Furthermore, Margaret Hassan is not one of us. She is a naturalized Iraqi citizen, married to an Iraqi.

[nodehopper]

22. word.

[Tansy_Gold]

25. I don't think that's what the poster meant

I think they meant that the justifications given were woefully, criminally insufficient, but the fact that we did it gave the "terrorists"/kidnappers an excuse. Not a good one, not a just one.

The fact remains -- on flimsy and non-existent evidence, boosh led us into a horrible, horrible war. Many many women and children and men and boys and old people have been needlessly killed and maimed and tortured. Margaret Hassan is every bit as innocent as they, and there is no good, just reason for her to be hurt in any way.

But in some ways, the booshies are as barbaric and cruel as the terrorists.

"We" aren't, because "we" didn't approve it, we didn't sanction it, and we tried to stop it. But there are those who did approve it, did sanction it, and then carried it out. And unfortunately, "they" have a nationality in common with us.

[Mike Daniels]

39. You honestly think these people need an excuse to kill someone?

Sorry, but if they want to kill someone, let them go up against the military itself.

Capturing unarmed individuals and making them plead for their lives on film over the course of several days, weeks, etc. before killing them is a totally reprehensible act that can't be defended on any level (regardless of who does it).

And capitulating to the demands of such people only encourages them to continue with such acts as they realize they aren't about to suffer any negative consequences.

[tabasco]

52. I'm with ya' cali.

Disgusting.

[cali]

54. Thank you. Just Thank you

for understanding what I meant.

[nodehopper]

21. what does that have to do with anything?

Two wrongs don't make a right. I at least can understand the insurgents attacking and kidnapping military and collaborators. But this is a woman who has lived in Iraq for most of her life and has dedicated it to helping, REALLU helping the Iraqi people, through misery, through war, through sactions, through bombings. CARE remained on the ground when almost no one else did. And THIS is how they repay her?

[The_Casual_Observer]

24. You are trying to apply some kind of logic to this, there is no logic.

After chimp threw open the gates of hell, all reason vanished. There isn't any moral justification for any of it on either side.

[nodehopper]

28. I know! The poster above was trying to "justify" it somehow.

[yardwork]

46. That's the fact, Jack

The U.S. handled the response to 9/11 all wrong. Instead of rounding up OBL and the rest of al Quaeda, we let them get away, then invaded a country that had been uninvolved in terrorism.

Instead of neutralizing our attackers, we multiplied them in an environment of horror, chaos, and war.

If we had deliberately set out to incubate terrorism we couldn't have done a better job.

[loathesomeshrub]

56. And then half the people in this country apparently showed their

support by voting for him. Unbelievable.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

26. "They" who? Do you know anything about John Negroponte,....

...our current Ambassador to Iraq?:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Negroponte>

Scroll down to the heading "Ambassador to Honduras". This man will stop at nothing to carry out his instructions.

[nodehopper]

27. I don't think it's Negroponte doing this

Although, yes, I am well familiar with his shameful track record.

There are monsters on both sides of the fence.

[raggedcompany]

62. re: "Fuck Them."

How can they do this to a woman who has dedicated over half of her life to the welfare of the Iraqi people?

Well, we're dealing here with killers, murderers. How murderers--the actual men killing--can do what they do is a genuine mystery to me.

From a political standpoint I would argue that this has almost nothing to do with Hassan herself.

They don't care who she is; to them Hassan is not a person, but a tool, her capture and torture are not personal, but tactical. They are not doing this to her if you will, but rather using her to do it to their enemies. In this respect, they are little different from U.S. policy/war makers, if at all.

The comparison to U.S. murder of innocent Iraqis is germaine: given their means and goals, and their values, the U.S. has made clear decisions about tactics. Namely, it is better to bomb innocent people and bad guys alike, than to suffer increased troop casualties in order to get the bad guys with far lower civilian casualties. That's a judgement the U.S. has made. The result of that decision is clear. As Tommy Franks said,"We don't do body counts." To the U.S., the civilian casualty is meaningless in the context of "keeping America safe."

The reasoning Hassan's captors use is identical. Given their means and goals, and their values, they have likewise determined that murder of innocents is justified. Just as the U.S. cannot suffer the casualties concomitant with a conventional invasion, the terrorists cannot fight toe to toe with their vastly superior enemy. So they made the same decision: civilians are fair game in order to defend their homeland.

The biggest difference is that the terrorists openly, deliberately target the civilian, while the U.S. blithely, "accidentally" targets the civilian. In the final analysis, what is happening to Hassan is no worse than what the U.S. has done. It is only more visible.

That of course doesn't comfort me at all, nor should the comment be construed as defense of their heinous action.

But let's try to keep this in context: this is par for the course. Hassan's kidnappers are American war-makers' spiritual brothers. The game is war, the civilized army is indistinquishable from the barbarians, the horror is unmitigated.

---

/second post ever at DU. been lurking for a long time.

[Cornus]

63. Unfortunately...

...you are absolutely right.

[Goldmund]

65. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

May your stay be long and prosperous.

[Carl Brennan]

67. A steady supply of these beheadings to nurture anti--Arab hate

in Westerners. This shit is all just too damn convenient for Bushboys agenda. Soon people will forget what sparked the Arab fury in the first place and all they will remember is the image of the tortured person.

[phrenzy]

5. Kerry

Kerry will be going after these motherfuckers.

It is just a coincidence they found their way to clusterfuck Iraq so they could be in a more target rich environment.

These are precisely the guys we should have been pursuing RATHER THAN going in to Iraq.

[ilovenicepeople]

34. Pardon me

I would just like to know who "those motherfucker's" are behind the masks before I can come to a logical conclusion as to who I'm supposed to point my jihad stick at?I just don't know what to believe anymore?:cry:

[madrchsod]

6. bad news

this shit has to change..on both sides. just what is being hid from us in regards to the prisons we have in iraq and elsewhere?

[nodehopper]

10. those F*CKING ASSHOLES

CARE was one of the last organizations to stay and try to help Iraqis. That poor woman spent most of her life helping the Iraqi people. What the fuck are they thinking?

[Wols]

36. They are "evil doers"

Yeah, Bush is a complete tool but he's right about that.

[Mnemosyne]

11. Ms. Hassan is quite possibly ANOTHER victim of...

the current regime's attempt to instill fear and anger against the "insurgents" (read: people that want the US out of their country, not terrorists), remember Nick Berg? no blood, voices wrong????

Oh well, guess I'll grab my tinfoil hat, the Lunatic and co. would never cause the death of innocents just to influence the election.

May God watch over Margaret Hassan and the people she has tried so desperately to help.

[DuctapeFatwa]

15. take off the hat. "cui bono?" is a legitimate question that should be

asked more often.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

17. That was my first thought...who is REALLY behind the kidnapping...

...and who does it affect the most. As another poster stated, who stands to gain the most by this particular act?

[ilovenicepeople]

35. Hey quit useing logic

It seems to piss off some people here at DU,we can't have that kind of thought.On the other hand,it's never to late to be a pessimist.

[Minstrel Boy]

23. Will we ever have an accurate head count,

of who lost theirs to which faction?

There are cells of resistence (some acting in coordination, some not), criminals looking to profit by hostage-taking, and black ops to consider.

[DuctapeFatwa]

32. And here is another clue to go with your cui bono

Gunmen holding hostage Margaret Hassan said they would hand her to militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi if British troops do not leave Iraq within 48 hours..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3976433.stm

[ilovenicepeople]

38. I would like to challange al-Zarqawi to prove that he is alive and in Iraq

Mr. Zarqawi if your checking out DU and you read this post.PROVE YOURSELF Mr. BOGGIEMAN,PROVE IT!!!! (ps.I'll be waiting.)

[sattahipdeep]

57. Black water security. n/t

[sattahipdeep]

70. Al-Qaeda calls for release of British hostage

By Aqeel Hussein in Latifiyah and Damien McElroy
(Filed: 07/11/2004)

Hopes for the kidnapped British aid worker Margaret
Hassan rose yesterday after al-Qaeda terrorists in Iraq
called for her release.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/11/07/wirq07.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/11/07/ixworld.html

[randr]

13. I hope to hell B* and Blair are being shown this

The death and suffering of every single person involved in this conflict is on their hands.

[DS1]

14. Nothing's stopped them before

Nobody should ever have to go through that.

[HerbieHeadhunter]

18. Damn....

I can't even stand to finish the story.

Fucking bastards.

[Cleita]

19. Yes, I just read the story.

Sad...sad...sad.

[amber dog democrat]

20. She's dead already

and I don't see any good options here. So much for bringing " freedom" to Iraq and now we may be getting mired down in a new kind of Stalingrad.

This could go of for years. I'm disgusted and glad I came out of the Vietnam war era and already served time in the military. This situation is looking more and more ominious every day.

[nodehopper]

29. she's dead already? Did I miss something?

[amber dog democrat]

47. no, its just a prognosis

There is not enough resolve in all of christiandom to rescue that lady.
Her fate is sealed and the European/Ameican led forces won't or can't act to help her.

When her captors run out of patience they will kill her.

[nodehopper]

51. :( God, every time I think about her I want to cry

[Skittles]

31. why doesn't GOD do something?

:puke:

[nodehopper]

42. what's that supposed to mean?

[Skittles]

45. what is it NOT supposed to mean?

I always hear survivors saying GOD WAS WATCHING OVER ME, never explaining why he apparently wasn't watching over EVERYONE

[amber dog democrat]

55. its enough to confirm my agnosticism

Nothing is going to happen...but I can hope.
Still this is not a part of the world to be in. - Its just too bad.
It will happen again. I promise you.

[puddycat]

33. "too graphic to air" by Al Jazeera is an oxymoron

[Wols]

40. I wish they would air it as a warning to foreigners

Frankly this was/is a decent human being who felt a strong sense of duty to help the Iraqi people. But she was also cavalier when it came to her security. Unless you have a gun there is no fucking way you should be in Iraq. Fuck the reconstruction. People got to live. Don't risk death so you and Haliburton can make a buck, or because you feel a sense of solidarity with the Iraqi people. Cause there are some fucked up jihadis who've come out of the woodwork and if you ain't worshipping Allah or are helping the US your ass is toast. Sorry for the rambling.

[Matilda]

48. She is married to an Iraqi, has dual Iraqi/British citizenship,

and has lived there for thirty years.

She's been involved in aid work for years. She's not seeking to
profit in any way from the current situation, and whoever is holding
her (the major groups are saying it's not them) has made a
misjudgment.

This is really tragic - a good person, doing her best for her
adopted country, and she doesn't deserve this.

[barb162]

49. I have been reading a lot of Iraqis are getting kidnapped as things

spin further out of control there. Lots of wealthier Iraqis are leaving the country.

[Wols]

50. Yeah I know she is a good person

which is why I included this: "or because you feel a sense of solidarity with the Iraqi people."

[Blue_Tires]

37. lol..that's a first for Al-Jizz

usually they can't air the tapes fast enough....why stand on principle now??

[Peanut Gallery]

41. Robert Fisk column about Ms. Hassan

Kidnapped - The Heroine Who Offered Hope for Iraq
by Robert Fisk
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1020-01.htm

Margaret? Margaret Hassan kidnapped? She who said to me that soon, very soon, "there will be more than one lost generation" in Iraq?

Is there no end to the kidnappers' targets? Margaret Hassan was abducted at 7.30 yesterday morning on her way to work running Care International's Iraq operation. Soon afterwards, Arabic al-Jazeera television showed her sitting in a room looking calm, if concerned. It also showed close-ups of her identification papers and said an unnamed Iraqi group claimed it had kidnapped her.

Margaret was the enemy of United Nations sanctions on Iraq. She is the symbol of all those who believe that Iraq - a real, free, unoccupied Iraq - has a future; and all we can be told is that she, too, has joined the legion of the unpersons, the "disappeared", the list of those who, because of their language or the colour of their eyes or their nationality, have slipped into Iraq's dark hole.
(more)

[Democracy Died 2004]

43. Well this is what happens in wars,

The Amurkans in this country need to see more of this to be reminded it's not a goddamn video game. Maybe then we won't let some jerk ass wad take us to war because "He tried to kill my daddy" GOD PLEASE STRIKE THIS MAN DEAD. I BEG YOU.

[yellerpup]

44. Heartbreaking and outrageous.

Even though I'm an athiest, I will pray for her all night. Peace.

[barb162]

53. I hope that any western person still there gets the hell out.

That Polish woman married to an Iraqi, what happened to her. I think she is still a captive too. Rich Iraqis are leaving the country as the hostage takers are kidnapping them too for money. The country is faliing apart FAST. Almost no place is safe. If they kill Hassan, I hope they do it quickly. When Al Jazeera doesn't show something....

[DU9598]

58. Karma

It is all Karma at this point. We will reap what we deliver upon others. We have killed 100,000+. We have some bad days ahead.

Pray for the rapture ... it will make America better.

[The_Casual_Observer]

59. I say show the motherfucking tape!

Put it on fox and the evening news. Or sell it to pay per view to finance chimp's war.

[alexisfree]

60. another site had the video ..dont blame the iraqs we would do the same

http://www.ogrish.com/a/margaret_hassan_video_too_graphic_too_broadcast.html

[DS1]

61. Wow, too graphic!

No jugular spray, no gurgling of sliced throat, just crying.

Al Jazeera has some fucked up ideas about what's graphic and what's sad.

[atre]

64. I think it's this

In Islamist (fundamentalist Islam) culture, death is not dishonorable; humiliation is.

[muriel_volestrangler]

68. Al Jazeera has never shown beheadings

those have only been available from independent web sites.

I believe it did show the footage of American soldiers captured by the Iraqis, which was when the USA government started campaigning against the station in earnest.